Pasadena-based Wescom credit union begins $10 million consumer debt

It’s the little expenses that add up, like buying new clothes, shoes, pots and pans or paying for Uber rides.

For the 13,000 households without a home in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires of Jan. 7, small, consumer expenses can’t measure up to the cost of rebuilding or ridding homes of ash and smoke. But these are very real costs that act as speed bumps slowing the drive to recovery.

That’s where Westcom Financial, a credit union serving 250,000 people in Southern California, comes in. Through its foundation, the Pasadena-based entity has partnered with ForgiveCo to erase $10 million in consumer debt for fire victims hit hardest.

By the end of the month, some 2,000 individuals will be receiving totally unexpected letters and emails announcing they have been chosen as the fi